speeches. that broad provision of the constitution that has taken us from no written prohobition protecting the unborn, no written statement that you can't voluntarily pray in school, and on, and on, and on, and on, and that's what drives us here, quite frankly. that's my concern. when we talk about balls and strikes -- maybe that is not the right way to talk about it. but a lot of us feel that the best way to change society is to go to the ballot box, elect someone, and if they are not doing it right, get rid of them through the electoral process. and a loft us are concerned from the left and the right that unelected judges are very quick to change society in a way that is disturbing. .

. disturbing. can you understand how people may feel that way? >> certainly, sir. >> now let's talk about you. i like you, by the way, for whatever that matters. since i may vote for you that ought to matter to you. one thing that stood out about your record is that when you look at the almanac of the federal judiciary, lawyers anonymously rate judges in terms anonymously rate judges in terms temperament. and here's what they said about you. she's a terror on the bench. she's temperamental, excitable. she seems angry. she's overly aggressive, not very judicial. she does not have a very good temperament. she abuses lawyers. she really lacks judicial

temperament. she believes in an out-of-control -- she behaves in an out-of-control manner. she makes inappropriate outbursts. she is nafty to lawyers. she will attack lawyers for making an argument she does not like. she can be a bit of a bully. when you look at the evaluation of the judges on the second circuit, you stand out like a sore thumb. in terms of your temperament. what is your answer to these criticisms? >> i do ask tough questions at oral arguments. >> are you the only one that asks tough questions at oral arguments? >> no, not at all. i can only explain what i'm doing, which is when i ask lawyers tough questions, it's to give them an opportunity to explain their positions on both sides and to persuade me that

they're right. i do know that in the second circuit, because we only give litigants ten minutes of oral arguments each, that the processes in the second circuit are different than in most othe circuits across the country. and that some lawyers do find that our courts, which is not just me, but our court generally is described as a hot bench. it's a term of art lawyers use. it means that they are peppered with questions. lots of lawyers who are unfamiliar with the process in the second circuit find that tough bench difficult and challenging. >> if i may interject, judge, they find you difficult and challenging more than your colleagues. and the only reason i mention

this is it stands out. there are many positive things about you and these hearings are designed to talk about the good and the bad. and i never liked appearing before a judge that i thought was a bully. it's hard enough being a lawyer, having your client there to begin with without the judge just beating you up for no good reason. do you think you have a temperament problem? >> no, sir. i can only talk about what i know about my relationship with the judges of my court and with the lawyers who appear regularly from our circuit. and i believe that my reputation is such that i ask the hard questions, but i do it evenly for both sides. >> in fairness to you, there are plenty of statements in the record in support of you as a person that do not go down this

line. but i would just suggest to you for what it's worth as you go forward here that these statements about you are striking. they're not about your colleagues. the ten-minute rule applies to everybody. and that, you know, obviously, you've accomplished a lot in your life. but maybe these hearings are time for self-reflection. this is pretty tough stuff that you don't see from -- about other judges on the second circuit. let's talk about the wise latina comment yet again. and the only reason i want to talk about it yet again is that i think what you said -- let me just put my vices on the table here. one of the things that i constantly say when i talk about the war on terror is that one of the missing ingredients in the mideast is the rule of law that senator schumer talked about. that the hope for the mideast, iraq and afghanistan is that there will be a courtroom one day that if you find yourself in that court it would be about what you allegedly did, not who

you are. it won't be about whether you are a sunni shia, a kurd or a pashtun. it will be about what you did. and that's the hope of the world, really, that our legal system, even though we fail at times, will spread. and i hope one day that there will be more women serving in elected office and judicial offices in the mideast. i can tell you this from my point of view. one of the biggest problems in iraq and afghanistan is the mother's voice is seldom heard about the fate of her children. and if you wanted to change iraq, apply the rule of law and have more women involved in having a say about iraq. and i believe that about afghanistan. inside i think that's true here. i think for a long time a lot of talented women were asked, can you type? and we're trying to get beyond that and improve as a nation.

so when it comes to the idea that we should consciously try to include more people in the legal process and the judicial process, from different backgrounds, count me in. but your speeches don't really say that to me. along the lines of what senator kyl was saying, they kind of represent the idea. there's a day coming when there will be more of us -- women and minorities -- and we're going to change the law. and what i hope we'll take away from this hearing is they need to be more women and minorities in the law to make a better america. and the law needs to be there for all of us, if and when we need it. and the one thing that i've tried to impress upon you through jokes and being serious

is the consequences of these words. and the world in which we live in. we're talking about putting you on the supreme court and judging your fellow citizens. and one of the things that i need to be assured of is that you understand the world as it pretty much really is. i can't find the quote but i'll find it here in a moment. the wise latina quote. do you remember it? >> yes. >> say it to me. can you recite it from memory? >> i got it. all right. i would hope that a wise latina woman with the richness of her

experience would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male. and the only reason i keep talking about this is that i'm in politics. and you got to watch what you say because, one, you don't want to offend people you are trying to represent. but do you understand, ma'am, that if i had said anything like that and my reasoning was that i'm trying to inspire somebody, they would have had my head. do you understand that? >> i do understand how those words could be taken that way, particularly if read in isolation. >> well, i don't know how else you could take that. lindsey graham said that i will make a better senator than x

because of my experience as a caucasian male makes me better able to represent the people of south carolina and my opponent was a minority. it would make national news, and it should. having said that, i am not going to judge you by that one statement. i just hope you'll appreciate the world in which we live in that you can say those things meaning to inspire somebody and still have a chance to get on the supreme court. others could not remotely come close to that statement inside survive. whether that's right or wrong, i think that's a fact. does that make sense to you? >> it does, and i would hope

that we've come in america to the place where we can look at a statement that could be misunderstood and consider it in the context of the person's life. and the work they have done. >> if that comes of this hearing, the hearing has been worth it all. that some people deserve a second chance when they misspeak. and you would look at the entire life story to determine whether this is an aberration or just a reflection of your real soul. if that comes from this hearing, then we've probably done the country some good. now let's talk about the times in which we live in. you're from new york. have you grown up in new york all your life? >> my entire life. >> what did september the 11th, 2001, mean to you? >> it was the most horrific experience of my personal life

and the most horrific experience in imagining the pain of the families of victims of that tragedy. >> do you know anything about the group that planned this attack, who they are and what they believe? have you read anything about them? >> i follow the newspaper accounts. i've read some books in the area, so i believe i have an understanding of that. >> what would a woman's life be in their world if they can control a government or a part of the world? what did they have in store for women? >> i understand that some of them have indicated that women are not equal to men. >> i think that's a very charitable statement. do you believe that we're at

war? >> we are, sir. we have tens and thousands of soldiers in the battlefields of afghanistan and iraq. we are at war. >> are you familiar with military law much at all? and if you're not, that's okay. >> no, no, no. i'm thinking because i've never practiced in the area. i've only read the supreme court decisions in this area. i've, obviously, examine d by referencing cases some of the procedures involved in military law. but i'm not personally familiar with military law. i haven't participated -- >> i understand. from what you've read and what you understand about the enemy that this country faces, do you believe there are people out there right now plotting our

destruction? >> given the announcements of certain groups and the messages that have been sent with videotapes, et cetera, announcing that intent and the answer would be based on that? yes. >> under the law of armed conflict, and this is where i may differ a bit with my colleagues, it is an international concept, the law of armed conflict. under the law of armed conflict, do you agree with the following statement -- that if a person is detained who is properly identified through accepted legal procedures under the law of armed conflict as a part of the enemy force, there is no requirement based on a length of time that they be returns to the

battle or@@@@@@@@a)n @ @ @ @ r@ r requires a detaining authority to allow an impartial decisionmaker to determine the question of status, whether or not you are a member of the enemy force. and see if i write about the law, but if that determination is proper, there is no

requirement under the law of long conflict to release a member of the enemy force that still presents a threat. ict to release a member of the enemy force that still presents a threat. i'd like you to look at that. now let's talk about your time as a lawyer. the puerto rican legal defense fund is that right? is that the name of the organization? >> it was then. i think -- i know it has changed names recently. >> okay. how long were you a member of that organization? >> nearly 12 years. >> okay. if not 12 years. >> during that time, you were involved in litigation matters. is that correct? >> the fund was involved in litigations. i was a board member of the fund. >> okay. are you familiar with the position that the fund took regarding taxpayer funded abortion?

the brief they filed? >> no inever reviewed those briefs. >> in their brief they argued that if you deny a low-income woman medicaid funding, taxpayer funds to have an abortion, if you deny her that, that's a form of slavery. and i can get the quotes. do you agree with that? >> i wasn't aware of what was said in those briefs. perhaps it might be helpful if i explain what the function of a board member is and what the function of the staff would be in an organization like the fund. >> okay. >> in a small organization as the puerto rican legal defense fund was back then, it wasn't the size of other legal defense funds like the naacp legal defense fund or the

mexican-american legal defense fund, which are organizations that undertook very similar work. in an organization like prld ef, the member's main responsibility is fund-raising. i'm sure a review of the board meets would show that's what we spent the most of our time on. to the extent that we looked at the organization's legal work, it was to ensure that it was consistent with the broad mission statement of the fund. >> is the mission statement of the fund to include taxpayer funded abortion? was that one of the goals? >> our mission statement was broad like the constitution. which meant that its focus was on promoting the equal

opportunities of hispanics in the united states. >> well, judge, i've got, and i'll share them with you and we'll talk about this more. a host of briefs for a 12-year period where the fund is advocating to the state court and the federal court that to deny a woman taxpayer funds, low-income woman taxpayer assistance in having an abortion is a form of slavery is an unspeakable cruelty to the life and health of a poor woman. was it -- was it or was it not the position of the fund to advocate taxpayer funded abortions for low-income women? >> i wasn't and i didn't as a board member review those briefs. our lawyers were charged -- >> would it bother you if that's what they did? >> well, i know that the funds during the years i was there was involved in public health issues

as it affected the latino community. it was -- >> is abortion a public health issue? >> well, it was certainly viewed that way generally by a number of civil rights organizations. >> do you personally view it that way some. >> it wasn't a question of whether i personally viewed it that way or not. the issue was whether the law was settled on what issues the fund was advocating on behalf of the community it represented. and so the question would become, was there a good-faith basis for whatever arguments they were making as the fund's lawyers were lawyers. they had an ethical obligation. >> and quite frankly lawyers are lawyers and people who have

causes that they believe in have every right to pursue those causes. and the fund, when you look -- you may have been a board member, but i'm here to tell you that file brief constantly for the idea that taxpayer-funded abortion was necessary and to deny it would be a form of slavery challenged parental consent is being cruel and i can go down a list of issues that the fund got involved in that the death penalty should be stricken because it is a form of racial discrimination. what's your view of the death penalty in terms of personally? >> the issue for me with respect to the death penalty is that the supreme court since breg has determined that the death penalty is constitutional under

certain situations. >> right. >> i have rejected challenges to the federal law and its application in the one case i handled as a district court judge but it's a reflection of what my views are on the law. >> as an advocate, did you challenge the death penalty as being an inappropriate punishment because of the effect it has on race? >> i never litigated a death penalty case personally. the fund -- >> did you ever sign a memorandum saying that? >> i signed the memorandum for the board to take under consideration what positions on behalf of the latino community the fund should take on new york state reinstating the death penalty in the state. it's hard to remember because so

much time has passed. >> i want you to be aware of what i'm talking about. let me ask you this. we've got 30 seconds left. if a lawyer on the other side filed a brief in support of the idea that abortion is the unnecessary and unlawful taking of an innocent life and public money should never be used for such a hain yeinous purpose, wo that disqualify them, in your opinion, from being a judge? >> advocate advocates on behalf of the client they have so that's a different situation than how a judge has acted in the cases before him or her. >> the only reason i mention this, judge, is that the positions you took or the fund took i think, like the speeches, tell us

>> the senate judiciary committee has wrapped up its confirmation hearings. the next step is for her nomination to be voted on in judiciary committee. they are scheduled to meet on tuesday to consider the nomination, and the vote is possible that day. if she is voted out of committee, she will face a vote in the senate. democrats hope to have a confirmation vote in the full senate before the august recess. that means she would be in place for an argument to the supreme court is scheduled to hear on september 9. watch c-span for the latest on the confirmation for judge sonia sotomayor. and tomorrow, more highlights from the confirmation hearing. topics include abortion, the wise latina comment, and executive power. that is tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. eastern on c-span and c-span radio.

you are watching c-span, created as a public service by the nation's cable companies. up next, the national governor'' association opening meeting. and later, a discussion on freight transportation. >> apollo 11 astronaut buzz aldrin takes your calls on sunday's "washington journal." we talk about the fortieth anniversary of the first moon walk. >> of the nation's governors are in mississippi this weekend for their meeting to address issues impacting their states. this is about 30 minutes. >> we're very glad and honored

to be hosting this year's national governors' conference. this is the first time we have hosted the national governors' conference. i might call your attention -- if you look out the window, you see the old hotel building. that is where the 1935 governors conference was held. now it is an office building. water got into it during katrina. everything you see from here was devastated by katrina. this building, which was almost brand new, had water through the first floor, the courts, the justice officials were out of the building for a year while it was being repaired.

the storm surge in mississippi, the first little town east of the eye of the storm was 38 feet deep. the national weather service said it was the greatest storm surge ever recorded in the history of meteorology. all of this area was devastated. as you can see, a tremendous comeback has been made. we are very glad that the governors' association chose our state to have this conference so that the people of the united states and their elected leaders could see the progress that has been made. they can see there is still a lot to do. i have been struck by how many governors have mentioned to me, i was here a year ago or two years ago, i can't believe the difference in the way the place looks now.

our conference theme this year is infrastructure. we thought it would be appropriate to have this conference here, where you can see one of the big transportation infrastructure enterprises. it was absolutely obliterated by the hurricane. everything was lost, and hundreds of containers that were parked on the land side of the appears that you see were carried out as far as 11 miles away. they floated, came down and landed on people's cars. often with their contents which included i don't know how many thousand frozen chickens. i see this lady who is obviously from here, there were chickens all over and it did not smell

too good for quite awhile. we have continued to come back>> the mississippi gulf coast is coming back bigger and better than ever. people in the united states have been incredibly generous to us in so many ways, including congress giving us $5.4 billion of community development block grant funds that we have used to restore housing, for economic development, community read dollarization, and everyone of you will be given one of these. this is the most recent report on how that $5.4 billion has been spent and is allocated to be spent. the taxpayers were generous and gave us latitude in how to spend it. we thought we had you here, we would make our report about what we have done. with that, i am glad to be joined here by leaders of the

national governors' association. some of you have been told that governor ed rendell who is our chairman is not here because of issues that they are working on in pennsylvania. our incoming chairman, jim douglas, is here to stand in for governor rendell. it is my pleasure to introduce to you the governor as west virginia. >> thank you, and i do appreciate you and your wife for all the hard work and all volunteers in the beautiful state of mississippi that have made this possible. ed rendell could not be here, so i am standing in as the vice chair. the in g8 is probably the most -- the nga is the most bipartisan group of policy makers you will find anywhere. we work across party lines

trying to find solutions, because we both had the same challenges. i have been appreciative to have the french ship and working relations i do with governors around the country -- to have the friendships i do. i appreciate the work they have done to continue to bring these real solutions to real problems. also to the hotel and convention staff here in biloxi. he school bus well. -- he schooled us well. it has been a spectacular kickoff. the excitement that all our families have to travel with us and our staff.

that we talk a little bit about the stimulus recovery act earlier this year and how it is affecting all of us in our respective states. i can speak for west virginia. we have been very fortunate. we have been able to dodge the bullet, if you will, but we will not go unscathed. we will be affected as every other state. with that being said, we are looking toward the 2013-2014 budget. we are all plant -- trying to plan our seltzer. the economic challenges the governors are facing are real. just to give you some statistics, for the first quarter of the year, governors collectively across the u.s. witnessed a 24% decline in revenues. during 2009, we saw 42 states forced to reduce their it enacted budgets by millions of dollars.

it brought spending down 2.2% below what 2008 was. we have never been allowed to record those drastic changes in the health and well-being of state government since they have been keeping data. states also had to recommend $24 billion in tax increases for the 2010 fiscal year. and now -- i don't know what it would have done without the of recovery act. even those of us who have weathered fairly well to this point, and some have been more challenge, collectively, i did not know what would have done with the amount of hardship that has been placed on citizens and our respective states that would have had to endure deeper cuts. a lot of this was able to be prevented by the stimulus act. about $135 billion of that was medicaid and education that was used to fulfill the drastic cuts that would happen if it had

not been for this money. you will see a lot of the money -- you have been hearing people talk about infrastructure. ed rendell took this as his charge when he became chairman of the nga. he has done a terrific job of working through this. i think you will start seeing a lot of this money starts flowing now for our infrastructure in all our states. the show already projects we talked about will start to flow -- that it shovelled ready projects. despite all the assistance we have had from the federal government, we are projecting shortfalls collectively in the next several years of more than $200 billion that will be facing, even with the assistance we receive. there has to be a correction that will go on among each

state. we will have to find the adjustments that need to be made, looking at our past policies and benefit packages, and looking at how we operate our states to be able to live within our means. this is where the rubber hits the road. governors make those decisions, and make them for the best interest, not just for today but for future generations. i think you'll see a lot of changes and adjustments being made. with changes come opportunities. i do not think we will ever have another correction such as the one we work will be going through that will not provide a lot of opportunities for states to hit their stride. that is what we are positioning ourselves for. we can see what mississippi has done through adverse hardships like katrina. is just overpowering, the devastation that went on here. the mississippi people rolled up their sleeves, got to work, and they are back stronger than

ever, because they believe in each other. if there is any other place that can be done, i do not know where it can be, other than america, coming back from the economic hardship that we are all facing right now. governor rendell has been a terrific leader. we appreciate his leadership and foresight into infrastructure. without the proper roads, bridges, water, sewer, and the new infrastructure is it the broadband high speed. we have to be able to connect with the rest of the world, no matter how will our states may be. we are working to make sure all our states have the necessary infrastructure to do that. i just want to thank haleigh, our host, for doing the job that he has done. i am confident this will be one of the most beneficial nga meetings that we have ever had. we have more challenges now than we have ever had.

we are facing more economic challenges and more opportunities, so we are going to work together, as the nga has always done, to make this very successful, and hopefully go back home with solutions to a lot of the challenges we have. with that, i will introduce our current buys chair and incoming chairman of the nga, our dear friend, jim douglas from vermont. >> thank you for being here. haley, great job as usual. governor barbour has shown great leadership in leading the state that. years ago, looking back at the response led by governor barbara to make sure that mississippi came through very difficult challenging time. congratulations on that effort, and thank you so much for being our gracious host this week.

thanks to march as well for her hard work and hospitality. this is the 101st annual meeting of the national governors' association. it was formed at the suggestion of the roosevelt who is a former chief executive of the state of new york. he thought it was a good idea for governors to come together every now and in and talk about issues of importance to the states. we have been doing it for more than a century. twice now in mississippi, and we hope that these meetings will continue to be a forum for bipartisan discussions, solutions, and confronting the challenges that america is facing. we have a lot of hard work ahead of us over the next couple of days. our committees have full agendas. we have several plenary sessions that we will be talking about with some important topics and installing it leaders for

the coming year. i talked with ed rendell the other night. he regrets having to pass on this annual meeting because of the fiscal crisis his state is facing, but we will carry on under his leadership nonetheless. we will have a plenary session later today focusing on infrastructure, which is governor rendell's top priority. we have some very distinguished guest, including the vice governor of a province of 100 million people in china. he has a lot of experience and infrastructure and will talk about china's strategy, including the role of private investment in the infrastructure needs of that country. we will be joined by charles mormon, who will talk about the role of freight rail infrastructure to transport raw materials and products. i have congressman rose of the laura of connecticut.

our committees will be active in talking about the long-term economic prospects for the states in our country. the education, early childhood, and work force committee will talk about increasing education and training opportunities for workers in this new and transforming economy. health and human services committee will focus on health- care reform. the national resources committee will talk about barriers to american energy security and independence. we will participate in a plenary session focused on emergency preparedness, certainly a timely inappropriate topic given our venue here on the golf course -- on the gulf coast. secretary napolitano will be here and deliver the keynote address. we'll have some panelists, the ceo of motorola and travelers,

brian mcdonald, partner and director in the disaster of and compliance division, and credit few great -- craig fugate. their specific topic will be coordinating efforts between the federal and state governments when these challenges occur, to make sure we have comparability of our emergency management strategies. our final plenary session will focus on energy and the economy. we'll have speakers from the public and private sector including the ceo of the u.s. chamber of commerce institute for 21st century energy, a founding partner of paragon partners, chairman and ceo of newcor. we have a lot on our plate over the next couple of days.

as my colleagues have suggested, there is no more critical time in the fiscal and economic lives of states than now. so many state shortfalls that are mounting. so many of our constituents are out of work and facing losses of income with family struggling to put food on the table and eat every day needs of people in america. there is no more important time for governors to come together and talk about the challenges of the people of this great country. i look forward to the next couple of days with my friends and colleagues. we are going to do everything we can to help each other through this difficult time. we are pleased to be joined by the governor of delaware as well. jack, welcome. >> i want to thank governor has a barber for hosting us. i was struck several years ago

for a review by everyone who came down to help in the aftermath of katrina and the message that they brought back. being here with other governors and seeing the governors come together to try to rebuild a country, not exactly the same work they did with so many volunteers right here in louisiana and mississippi, but this is an important place for all of us to be. we talked about the stimulus act. i want to give you one quick example. in delaware, we have been hit hard by the economy, and specifically we have to car plants, one chrysler and one general motors. the chrysler plant closed in december and the general motors plant is closing this month. we also have a big amtrak facility where the repair locomotives and passenger cars. just about a week ago i was at one of the amtrak facilities. amtrak got a lot of money to rebuild cars and refurbish cars. it allowed amtrak to hire 52

additional people in delaware. among those 52 people were a number of folks who previously had been at general motors or at chrysler. it is one thing to talk about these policies at a 30,000 foot level, and something different to be at the ground level and meet the people whose lives are different as a result of these initiatives. we are certainly grateful in delaware. i look forward to learning what we can and bring good ideas back to delaware. >> we will be glad to take any questions. >> can you tell us your opinion about whether the stimulus has been helpful in mississippi? >> it actually resulted in mississippi having a record budget for this fiscal year. we will spend more money this fiscal year than we have ever spent any year in the history

of mississippi. we would like to have had more latitude in how to spend that money. in congress's wisdom, that pushed most of the money toward education and medicaid. that results and as having this peculiar position. k-12 this fiscal year will be 7.2% higher than any other year in history of the state, yet most a departments and agencies are taking 5% cuts in their spending. all of education will receive a record appropriations. that was the direction that the congress wanted to go. frankly, we would have liked to not increase at spending quite so much, and moved some of that money to other departments. education is our top priority, and we spend about 63% of the

state budget on it, so we are in sync that this should be the first priority. however, every governor would like to have had a little more latitude in how to spend it. >> from our standpoint, the stimulus has prevented us from having to take cuts or make cuts in vital services that people depend on, especially in these hard economic times. there's more demand on services from state governments all across the country. it has been able to fill those voids for us. most of the seamless money will stop in 2011. all of us will be working on our 2011 budgets come this fall. when we get through that cycle, and the following years it becomes more challenging if it has not turned around. those are the concerns we have right now. without the flexibility, all your doing is pushing out some

challenges that might be a little daunting. without it, i do not know what would have done in some of the states. >> do you all think there needs to be more, another stimulus? >> personally, i do not think there is another appetite for it. i think this correction has to be made internally within each state. in west virginia, there is not an appetite right now. we are going to work ourselves through this. that is the strength of this country. it is each one of our strengths, collectively. >> i agree with what my colleagues have said. we certainly welcome the budgetary relief. in vermont, one for the car population is on medicaid. -- one-fourth of our population is on medicaid. we have to restructure our economy so that we are ready to get along without these federal

resources and a couple of years. secondly, haley made an excellent point. i appear before the house appropriations committee last year, and governors always want more flexibility, because the priorities are different from state to state. it is a lot more successful if we could deploy those dollars without having some of the specific requirements that the congress imposed. in terms of medicaid support, education support, infrastructure help to repair roads, bridges, rails, and culverts, i come from a part of a country where our infrastructure is aging, and we certainly need that help. we would like more flexibility. i am joined by the governor of the great state of montana, governor schweitzer. >> put me down for no.

joe is right. we are up on a very high peak that we are going to have to get down off of when the stimulus money runs out. pushing that of another year or two years is not the answer. we need to go on and start making the kind of changes these guys talk about sooner rather than later. >> you are hearing in a bipartisan fashion. >> the governor's -- [applause] >> i will be more authorized when we chat about it later today. it is fair to say that

governors share the concerns that the president and others have articulate about the need to ensure quality health care for all the people of our great country. frankly, governors have been in the forefront of providing leadership in this area. we have a program called renown care in vermont where we have reduced the uninsured rate substantially. it is a public-private partnership. there have been a lot of other innovations all across the country as well. i think the governors would all agree that what we do not want from the federal government is unfunded mandates. we are facing fiscal and economic challenges we have described already this morning, and we cannot have the congress impose requirements that we are forced to absorb beyond our capacity to do so. we want to work with the congress, with the

administration. a number of us have had many meetings with both branches of the federal government, and i hope we can find a way to get through this challenge, to meet the objectives that everybody shares without imposing new burdens on the states. >> are these things that would be good for the states in your estimation, or are there problems? >> we have not taken any specific positions on bills that have come out of individual committees in the congress. this is a challenging issue, not only physically and economically, but politically, to be honest. we will talk about it over the next couple of days and may or may not collectively have some specific statements on these initiatives. >> that me just say that one of the things we all have in common is that the most normal

part of our society is working people. if you are old enough, you have some form of health care. if you are young enough, you have it, and if you are a criminal, you have it. the people who do not have a, the most vulnerable, or the working people. we have to find a way to protect working people of america. i think you will see a lot of us concerned about how much of burton we are going to except. on one hand you can identify it that we have a problem in medicare and medicaid, and on the other hand burden us with the cost of paying for additional health care. i think you will see some movement toward preventive care, personal responsibility, rewards, and incentives. we are hoping it moves in that direction. we are hearing the comments coming from washington. we will be very much engaged,

and later on this afternoon you will see a directive that will put nga right at the forefront of this. >> with the current situation with the economy, for small businesses to try, there have to be incentives out there. do you have a plan to help businesses, it inside them to hire more people, to do more things to grow, because the government cannot make small business grow without inciting them some way with tax cuts or some kind of revenue in that fashion. small businesses are not looking for a handout, in just a hand up. >> in most of our states, small-businesses employ the majority of people. new jobs created are most often created by small businesses.

we have state programs in which small businesses can participate, but is really on a state-by-state basis. the federal government has a small business illustration. one of the things you are hearing us say we will work hard on is to help employers of small businesses have a better chance to get health insurance without breaking the small businesses or breaking the state governments. everybody would like to improve and knows we need to improve health care, but we are not going to do it at the cost of making small businesses less likely to survive. >> governor schweitzer is not a shy fellow. you have any thoughts on this topic? >> you are asking questions about what we think about health care bill, but you cannot predict what the health care bill is going to look like.

that is like watching a load of cattle boat to the slaughterhouse and predicting what the state is going to taste like. the same thing is happening to this bill. what has arrived at the senate is going to look a lot different when it comes out of the senate. from montana's perspective, the governors are asking what our opinion is on things. we function as a consensus. it takes all 50 governors to agree on something. you might imagine mississippi and montana will not agree on everything. i can tell you this. if the plan to allow the healthcare plan to be paid for in part needs to have the state's bonds to pay for it, the outfit that prints the money is turning to us and saying you can borrow. it does not work that way. that is the weight the government reduce the federal

government has been treating the states. they need to figure out a way to pay for what they are offering, not tell the states to pay for their mistakes. >> on the question of small business -- i do not have a cattle analogy. this is one place where nga can be so useful. it is probably one of the most important questions we face. we all have a fundamental responsibility to get our economy going again. the way we are addressing it in delaware is trying to understand what is standing in a way of these businesses now. one thing is their inability to access credit in an affordable way. we came up with the program at our strategic fund to allow $50 million of borrowing within the state. it is buying down to 0% the interest rate that companies -- these are good companies at a

been around for a least three years and have good standing at the banks. the interest-rate -- up to $12,500 a year of interest. a number of businesses in delaware will be able to keep two or three employees or hire an additional one because of this program. these days, with this economy, if we have a company that is going from 23 to 27 employees are from 7 to 11, that is a big deal. we are spending as much time helping those kinds of companies as we are looking at the biggest opportunities. >> this is a really important question. what do you think of a one -- a run for president by governor barbara? -- governor barbour? >> that is one question too many.

marshall thinks that is a bad question. >> i think it is a good idea. [laughter] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2009] >> the nation's governors have gathered in mississippi for their annual meeting. the plenary session has remarks by a chinese official and his company -- his country's investments in infrastructure. you'll also hear about legislation to create a national bank. >> this is an exciting time for all of us who have this important responsibility to our

states and to the people we serve in difficult economic and fiscal environments. we'll be talking about a lot of those issues over the course of the next couple of days. we will get under way very shortly with our opening session. we will talk about infrastructure and make the presentation as we do each year to the distinguished service award winners and recognize the 15 and 20 year corporate fellows. may i have from my colle adopt the rules to the annual meeting pus? we have adopted the rules. we have adopted the rules. i want to remind you any governor that wants to submit a new policy will require a 3/4 rules suspension vote on it -- and any of those

initiatives should be submitted to the nba staff no later than 5:00 p.m. tomorrow. i want to welcome a new colleague, the governor of arizona [laughter] -- [applause] we are delighted to have you, and we want to put you right to work. the nominating committee will make a recommendation to the plenary session on monday for executive committee members and officers. i would like to appoint governor brewer. we want to help you with your resonate -- with your resume. as chairman of the committee, governor rounds. we have a number of distinguished guests from outside of the united states here. . . great state of

mississippi, along with his wonderful wife, marsha, and has worked tires loosely for the last year to prepare for this meeting. our host, gov. hailey barber.

>> thank you very much. i take no offense by that joke. we in mississippi, and i speak for all of us welcome the national governors' association back. the last time we have this conference was in 1935. we just had the opening news conference over in gulf port. from the room you could see the markham building, which was read the governor's conference was held in 1935. it got three stars of water through it when hurricane katrina cancer here.

some of you said you had not visited mississippi since the storm. we are very proud of the progress that we have made. as you can see, we are not through. there is still more to be done. strong, resilience people of mississippi are up to the task. we are delighted to have a chance to show you. every one of our sister states are going through this. so many of you sent national guard and lot in sportsmen. -- and law enforcement. they came from every state. the first time that i realized how americans were pouring out

there for -- pouring out their heart for our state, after the storm when president bush was here and we went over to the feeding station. the feeding was so crowded whenever the president, i would usually try to be as far away as i could because of the crowds. i saw these seven guys standing over and i want over to speak to them. they said they were from vermont. they said they drove those. tractor-trailer's down their full of food. i said that is so fantastic. and a man named pettitt who is older than i am now but said, this is my third trip. just spectacular what people did, what the states did. we will never forget it. i mean that sincerely. i want to thank you again for coming here.

i told everybody who was here last time that this will be a great conference. we have a lot of business to deal with, some serious issues to talk about and share ideas about solutions. but we intend for you to have a good time. if you don't have a good time, -- we have mississippi grammy winners who are coming in to play. your spouses are packing packages for our men and women overseas and for their families. pall over st., a grammy winner came over early to do this. tomorrow morning there will be a gospel launch -- brunch.

it will be fun. we have a several time grammy winner who will entertain. it will be a good way to start your day. come and have a good time while you are here tonight and tomorrow night. mississippi is known as the hospitality state for two reasons, and we want to show you that. this building was devastated by katrina. we had water 20 ft. deep in the coliseum part. much of what you are saying has been built since the storm. this is part of our recovery. we are very proud of it. we want you to enjoy it. on behalf of all mississippi for every governor, welcome and we

are glad to have you here. [applause] >> thank you very much. all the american people are privileged to assist when any americans need this type of assistance. thank you for putting this together. it is not a small tester raise the resources necessary. as all of you know, the chairman of our association is unable to be here because of the fiscal and economic crisis in his home state. gov. rendell is doing a great job leading our association and

we will miss him. he is here through the magic of telecommunications. we will start with a video message from our chairman, and then invite him to offer some other remarks as we get into our discussion on infrastructure this morning. chairman rendell. >> let me apologize for not being with you today. we are experiencing a budget crisis as many budgets are. yesterday was the first payless payday. eventually our employees will be paid for every moment that they were, but they are not getting paid right now. negotiable -- negotiations are somewhat heating up and i could not leave. i apologize for not being with you.

let me just say a word about the organization. it has been an honor for me to serve as chairman for the past year. we have accomplished a lot is in the infrastructure agenda. i would like to say what a good organization this is. i think many of you are aware of the incredible work the executive board of the state -- staff did, coming together in shaping the stimulus bill, helping us to protect our most immediate needs. we would have been swamped financially without the stimulus. our work in philadelphia was very meaningful. i don't know if any of you have

heard but you will during this meeting of the incredible worked in staving off the senate finance committee's proposal which would have required us -- many states would have needed a constitutional amendment, bonding our share of expanded medicaid under the health-care proposal. the health-care task force headed by gov. granholm , in a 20 minute conversation we turned it german baucus around paris -- chairman baucus are around. it was a lifesaver. as your ongoing present, so let me say stay involved with this

organization. it helps us accomplish the things we want to do for our people in a meaningful way. thank you to all of you for giving me the honor. it has been a pleasure working with all of you this past year. i have one request which leeson to the plenary session. that is to adopt a proposal as a resolution. i think this is very important in the continuing battle to improve america's infrastructure. right now in washington, there are a lot of things happening on infrastructure. the transportation bill, the president has asked the senate and the house to extend transportation funding and not do the bill for 18 months. there is some opposition to that in the senate and house. i believe the president's bill will prevail. there needs to be stop-gap legislation to do this.

we need to create a national infrastructure bank, not to change the basic way of funding transportation. that will still come to the existing formula. having that infrastructure bank for projects of national regional significance, or to have the it infrastructure bank ready to finance major national initiatives like high-speed rail systems would have independent funding, and it would be awarded by a strict cost benefit analysis by experts not by politicians. it will be determined by what is the best product. we are not just talking about transportation. we will be asking for resolution here supporting the infrastructure bank. it is out of the ordinary way of

doing things and for that reason we need a three-quarters vote approval. i am asking you all to cast a vote on monday. the reason that it is important is the obama administration has asked the congress in the resolution that will continue to fund transportation funding. they have asked the congress to create the infrastructure bank. i think we want to support that idea. it is not a democratic idea, both democrats and republicans support the bank. we want to support the administration's initiative. the bank can be a source of flexible -- flexible funding, private funding and government funding. there are so many things the bank can do an accomplished to give us the wherewithal to do

our projects that we have. i am asking you all to support this resolution on monday. it is moving fast. congress woman from connecticut has put in legislation which was latest -- legislatively create the infrastructure bank. she will talk about her legislation. she has been fighting for this. she has been fighting for this legislation for over a decade now. i strongly support her. she makes a great advocate for the need to change infrastructure and infrastructure spending in this country. i am truly sorry that i am not with you.

i hope you have time to stay for a little bit of hospitality. gov. barbara is a great host. he is a good governor. he is even a better host. i hope -- i am sorry i am not with you. when this ends, i will participate in the preliminary session on infrastructure by phone. i will talk to you a little bit. thank you for the opportunity to serve, and let's keep pushing forward and please pass the infrastructure solution on monday. thank you. [applause] >> thank you so much for your leadership and your great work. it has been a privilege to work with you in this past year. the thank you for your hospitality at the centennial meeting last summer. meeting last summer. we will get into our speakers in a few minutes. are you there? >> i can hear you loud and

clear. it was a pleasure working with you this year as well. >> thank you. we are sorry you are not with us physically, but we are glad you can participate. we will jump right into our discussion of the importance for preparing and in enhancing our infrastructure system. we will talk about how we can get it done and perhaps more importantly, how we can pay for it. we are really facing a once in a generation opportunity to address our nation's infrastructure needs. the challenges could not be greater. after a century of build up our roads and bridges are in disrepair are water infrastructure has not kept pace with growth and our electric grid is a little different from the one that was envisioned by thomas edison. we've face enormous cost to bring our infrastructure to the 21st century. an estimated 2.2 trillion dollars is needed over the next five years.

while the recent stimulus investments have started the journey, we have a long way to go. where fortune two -- we are fortunate to have several different speakers this morning. zhang dawei comes to us from china to tell us how they're improving their infrastructure. we will hear from the congresswoman from connecticut's about the prospects of the national and for structure bank to help provide much needed support

robust ininfrastructure. they've been investing on the order of highways, ports, rail roads, in recent years. as part of these investments, china is also exploring the role of private investment to help design, build, operate and manage 106 kilometer in the province which is part of >> key passage to the southeast coast. china's tackling many of the

same issues we face with meeting the needs of the rural and urban communities through financing strategies, while also considering sustain ablity. they create a solid platform for a global commerce, keeping to build the bridges -- well, that too, perhaps, but a worldwide economic recovery. we'll be doing simultaneous translation. at this point, i would invite you to put your ear piece in, and begin to listen to the vice governor's presentation. what a pleasure it is to well, bell, welcome, the vice governor to n.g.a. [applause] >> mr. chairman, ladies and gentlemen, i'm absolutely delighted to be able to come

from the yellow river, which is the cradle of chinese civilization. to come to the gulf coast of mississippi, on on the other side. i'm honored to be able to represent the government of henan province of this annual session of the n.g.a. i thank you all for the invitation, and also for the great hospitality and considerate arrangesments you have made for us. i look forward to having this opportunity to exchange thoughts with my colleagues on infrastructure. i've given you copies of my remarks in english. this is in the packs that you have. but i would like to take this opportunity to just tell you very briefly something about henan province. a bit of our history. our present and our future.

we have a very long history. we are in central china and located right where the cradle of chinese civilization is, based on universal accepted criteria. the people who first settled in henan were the first to enter human civilization. the earliest cities in china and the earlyliest dynasties in china were all there. so for 5,000 years in china's history, henan was the center for some 3,000 years, and 20-plus dynasties set up their capitols in china in henan. and four out of the eight most famous, eight chinese capitols were located in henan province. so, this unique geography means that henan is full of historical relics. we rank number one in china.

even above ground relics, we rank number two. the earliest written characters in chinese were found in the haw north korean ruins. we have the height of sculpture, part of the heritage sights. now, many of you have heard of chinese martial arts. the world famous center is located there and queen elizabeth, former president puten of russia and the president of the international olympic committee all have fond memories of visiting the temple in henan. and we hope that all of you have a chance to come to visit the temple, and to see it for your self.

tai-chi boxing was found in henan. famous for body building and considered one of the marvels of chinese martial arts. like kung fu, it has spread all over the world and is now another bridge for us in our exchanges. the henan of today is growing explosively. we have 167,000 square kilometers of land. we produce grain, oils and meat abubbed dabbedly. we're the biggest grain producer. we produce one tenth of china's grain. we also have armle energy resources. because we have such rich resources, we have a pretty complete industrial system. we produce chinese food products, none ferries metals,

raw materials and equipment. also, we are very centrally located, so we connect north to south and east to west. our capitol is the heart of the chinese rail ray system. we have 4,000 kilometers of railways and three east west railways which cut across our province. we're a we have tops in all of china. we have three civilian airports. our international airport is one of the eight main regional hubs in china. now our province is almost 100 million, we're the most populace one in china.

in recent years with the stepping of industrial zation and urbani zation, last year, our g.d.p. reached $280 billion u.s. dollars, which is fifth place in china. the same is true, our industrial added value is fifth in china. therefore, we are both very old and very young, and very vigorous. now, what about henan's future? we have very good potential, because we have good conditions. and a good environment for development. since last year, the financial crisis has swept over the whole world. this has been the worst dem the economy since the great depression of the last century. in order to hope with these risks brought about by this economic down turn, the chinese government has issued its own stimulus package of about half of this package is going to

improve the peoples livelihood, and for major infrastructure and environmental conservation. this is not only going to help china fight off the effects of the global crisis, it will also stimulate domestic demand and stimulate the development of the economy. prove convincens and cities in china are using them as a key product to drive our economic growth. this will be investment lead. last year, our total investment exceeded two and a half trillion u.s. dollars. right now, $600 billion are already in place. and our overall economy is on its way to recovery. in order to fully utilize this opportunity, our province has now passed various supporting, including housing, people's

livelihood and environmental protection. so while although this crisis has affected us to some extent, thanks to this investment driven growth, our g.d.p. growth in the second quarter of this year are still going to keep going at a 10% rate. ladies and gentlemen and friends, global experience tells us that economic development requires lots of investment in order to promote industrial zation, urbanization. with our population of almost $100 million, every year, as we accelerate, 1.5 to 1.7 million will be moving to our cities. it means we have to advance in infrastructure and service. we must provide apartments and

housing, public transportation, running water, and so on. at the same time, we have to provide lots of job opportunities so these people have jobs, have incomes, and only then can they enjoy the fruits of development. to do this, our government has proposed a basic thought for our future infrastructure development. that is we will be moderately vansed in level. we will start from a starting point, sustaining and enhancing our development in the long term. but we also have to tackle key areas and weak links in order to establish a modern infrastructure, and a basic industrial system. it will become an international aviation and cargo hub and will

have 60 million people. rail is also important. both for and this has been a bottle neck in previous years. the next few years, henan will establish or rebuild 4,000 kinchnch lometers of track. on this, part will be high peed rail and we will have traffic between cities of rail transport exceeding 2,000, so that in one hour, we will have a one hour travel time economic circle covering the whole province. we want to focus on other forms we want to focus on other forms of new and recyclable energy.

in terms of urban infrastructure, we have to beef up electricity, heat and gas. particularly, we have to build up rail systems like the metro and improve public service utilities that affect people's livelihoods. medical care, culture and sports. only then can we give comprehensive support to our development. in environmental protection, we will take the lead in building sewage and trash processing facilities. by the end of 2007, every community has been fit with a garbage treatment plant. we will further invest in improved crucial drainage area. to transform old boilers and kilns. reduce carbon emissions, and

there by make a contribution to reducing the greenhouse effect and cut back on global warming. right now, henan province has started investments in all of these areas and we already begin to see results in some of them. as a whole, henan province is also a developing province. our infrastructure, service systems, light rail, etcation, health and environment are still very inadequate when you compare it with the huge demand. therefore, we still will need huge investments in order to improve these systems. this huge investment will be guided by the government, but also requires active participation from various social capitols. and this provides many opportunities of mutual benefit and win-win for the united states and for henan province. ladies and gentlemen, and friends, this year will mark the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic

relations between china and the u.s. for the past 30 years, both china, u.s. and the whole world have changed profoundly, as the biggest developing country and the biggest developed country. china and the united states have both experienced ups and downs, and yet we still continue to progress. we've had exchange in dialect at very senior levels and at other levels. and this is now covering the areas like politics, diplomacy, economic trade, we are over 60-plus mechanisms for change. bilateral trade has risen to over $300 billion last year. we're now each others second biggest trade partner. and in the early years of diplomatic relations, there was very little nongovernmental exchange. now, we have 2.1 million people exchanging travel each way, and every day, 5,000 people cross the pacific. there are now 35 sister province

state relations and 145 sister city relations. the u.s.-china relations are now one of the most influential and exciting relations in the world. this is good not only for the people of our two countries, but also good for world peace and development. henan is the sister province of kansas stay of the u.s. to celebrate this 30th anniversary between the ties of our two countries, to promote better relations, our government, the chinese people's association for friendship with foreign cities, the governor of the state of kansas and the midwest u.s.-china association is going to conduct a u.s.-china midwest cooperation forum in the henan province this coming october 10. the topic will be exchanges, cooperation and development. we'll be having a high level summit as well as cultural exchanges. we'll be govering topics like

how the midwest can better corporate with china to deal with the financial crisis, how it can corporate in agriculture. how we can have more education. how we can have invasion and regional developments. how we can have more cooperation in future and modern low giss ticks. by doing this, we will help address the financial crisis and we will build a new platform to promote. now the n.g.a. was established in 1908, and it's ab important place where u.s. govers can influence ideas. also an important vote in american society. my colleagues and i have been paying great attention to this year's meeting, and we have great expectations for what you will achieve here. i would like, on behalf of the

governor of my province, to extend our sincere invitation to all of you to bring delegations to attend our forum, to celebrate this event. and our invitation letters are already in your packets. we look forward to welcoming you. finally, i want to express my hopes for broth progress in america. my hopes for happy lives for chinese and american people. and good health and happiness to all of you here. thank you very much. [cheers and applause] >> thank you so much for your presentation and your invitation. it's certainly clear that a lot

of challenges faced by our two countries are similar in terms of rebuilding our infrastructure, and putting in place the road bridge rail, electric and telecommunications systems that will be necessary for success in a global economy. as you pointed out, we are large trading partners and many governors have led trade mations to your country. and we look forward to building. are their questions of vice governor? again, thank you so much for taking the time to be with us and bringing your delegation with you as well. like to now invite haley to come back to the podeyoum and introduce our second speaker. >> you can certainly have that back. it wouldn't do me much good. it's my pleasure to introduce

whit mormon who is the chairman president and c.e.o. of norfolk southern railroad. whit joined the railroad in 1970 and has had a number of senior positions since then. norfolk southern is one of the leading rail roads in the company. operates more than 20,000 miles of tracks in 22 eastern states. coal shipment but they're critical in trons porting cars, medals, chemicals, to paper products. n.s. appointed the rail industries first corporate officerser in 2007, released the first report in 2008 and is working to intergrate sustainability practices across its business. part of the sustainability initiative, as part of it, the company has developed an in house green machine that enables shippers to instantly calculate

the carbon savings from greater use of facilities and freight rail. nor folk is the heart land corridor and one of the critical transportation rights between norfolk, virginia and columbus, ohio. the corridor was recently upgraded through a public-private partnership and increased freight by raising vertical clearances in 28 tunnels. finally, the n.s., their leadership on sustainability is the use of advanced locomotive technologies to reduce eyeding. norfolk southern has expanded the use of new, known as gin sets. they're multiengine that can reduce particular matter emissions up to 80%. the reason i'm here to introduce

wick is because he's a native of hattiesburg, mississippi. wick moorman. [cheers and applause] >> thank you, governor barber. i grew up about 70 miles per hour from here. when i get down to this part of the world, i call it mississippi, too. up there we say mississippi and spell it out. thank you for the opportunity to be here, and thanks to the n.g.a. for making this opportunity available. i feel very privileged to be able to participate in this discussion this morning about our nation's infrastructure. and i'm obviously here today to talk to all of you about the critical nature of rail, as a vital part of the solution to what i think i see, and i know many of you see, as a luming transportation crisis in this country. and i think that the fact that

i've been invited here, in itself, speaks of the recognition that all of you, and the public policy leaders at all level have and a growing awareness that rail has to be part of the solution, and that rail roads offer significant economic and environmental benefits, while helping to relieve the stress on our nation's highways. and as you know, highway congestion is fast becoming public enemy number one in a lot of cup. certainly all of you and the nation state houses are key to helping provide relief for transportation gridlock. and i want to say, that i am here to speak on behalf on all of my rail c.e.o.'s, in saying thanks to all of you for the leadership you've demonstrated and for the relationships that we've built with all of you. i should also say that while he's listening on the phone in

governor rendell's absence, that he is a long time supporter of railway development programs. we appreciate that greatly because we have more of our 21,000 miles of network in pennsylvania than in any other of the 22 states we serve. we certainly commend governor rendell for his leadership in initiating this national dialogue in effort to strengthen all of our nation's infrastructure at such a critical time. well, i don't need to tell all of you -- i made him hang up apatiently. that happens all the time. i don't know what it is. i don't need to tell all of you that our nation's transportation network is a very complex system and it demands the most creative efforts of all of us to operate it on an efficient basis.

in our experience at norfolk southern, which is what i really want to talk about today, has shown that by walking together in public-private partnerships, we can achieve far more and far less time, and with far greater public benefits, than any of us can as working, while working alone. now, in some sense, that's not a big mystery. it's not a big secret. we've been doing this individually with a lot of you over the years in terms of economic development, where we partnered with you to bring new industries into states, as well as expanding the existing industries that are there. these efforts, as all of you know, are all about new jobs, raising tax revenues, creating local business growth. and creating business for the railroad. and there are great things for all of us. let me give you a few norfolk southern numbers. i'll give you numbers all the other rail carry yers after their numbers. i'll talk about a couple of norfolk southern projects, all

the others have projects that are almost as good as ours. but, working with the states we serve, just this past year, we located 830 new industries. we expanded 35 new industries. that represented about a $2.2 billion investment by customers, and by new citizens of this state. and we created about 3600 new jobs. and those are major headlines, particularly in the economic environment we're in today. if you look at the past 10 years, just on norfolk southern, we've participated in the location or expansion of more than 1,100 new facilities. that represents an investment of $23.6 billion and created nearly 555,000 new customer jobs just in the territory we serve. by expanding that partnership concept across state lines and

broadening, we can maintain public benefits associated with transportation infrastructure improvement, as i said before, none of us can do by ourselves, in any kind of reasonable or practical time frame. this is also a concept that works. i want to talk about something that governor barbar mentioned. we see this as a great example of how they can be leveraged to provide additional capacity on our network with the public benefits of job creation, less highway congestion, lower environmental emissions, and fuel savings. the heart land core dor, is a norfolk southern rail route, it connects essentially the virginia ports in hampton roads with the heart land of america. columbus, ohio and then onto cleveland and chicago what we've been able to do is rage cleans and tunnels to allow them to

stack railcars through that corridor. it's going to be open next year, it's going to be open next year, and when we do, it will save trade is entering the country through east coast ports. and we've seen this trend for some time now. and the challenge for us and for the ports is to get that traffic

inland and to be more competitive by running quicker over shorter distances, and the heart land corridor is a great example of how we're doing that as a partnership. let me say that the federal fund from the heartland corridor came from the 2003 safely bill as part of the corridor's of regional or national significance. of all the pro john kerries authorized in that bill, there are only three now underway. we'll be finished in 2010 and we'll be the first project finished. we think that's an absolutely great example of how the private sector can work with the public sector to really leverage investment and get the job done quickly. now, let me also mention there's an even bigger and better example on the way, now that we know about heartland and we have done that. we have a bigger project with a

lot more public benefit, in what we call the crescent corridor. a 2,500 mile route that stretches from new jersey down to new orleans and memphis. and we'll you will mately take it from new england down into texas, or as we like to say from austin to boston. we don't have the infrastructure and capacity to provide the truck competitive service that's really needed to take a substancal portion of the now, more than five million truck loads that travel every year in that market. it will ray low us to build the service to take those trucks off the highway. now, let me be very clear about this. we're not against trucks. in fact, they're among our biggest customers.

governor barber mentioned what cole is in terms of our business, but an even bigger percentage are containers and running on the railroad. we're trying to address what they see as an infrastructure crisis. trucking industry, as all of you know, has its own share of problems. fuel efficiency problems, particularly with higher energy cost. big problems with driver shortages, growing problems with highway congestion and they want us to help them get the long haul trucks off the highway. the crescent corridor is an idea opportunity. the average length of the haul would be about 1200 miles. so, very quickly. what are the public benefits? well, first, it creates jobs. we estimate over some 41,000 jobs just in the five states that are mostly directed by phase one -- mississippi, alabama, tennessee, virginia and pennsylvania. these are green jobs.

i want to say that green. these are green jobs, that ultimately help relieve congestion on the highway, conserve fuel and reduce environmental emissions. just two days ago, we ah nounsed construction near birmingham, alabama and memphis, tennessee that will anchor one end of the crescent corridor. we'll also be building new terminals in charlotte and in franklin county, pennsylvania. and in all, we'll have to expand or build 13 new terminals and 11 different markets. now, i mentioned the big environmental and safety advantages, as well as creation of job and raising tax revenues. you've heard a lot of these numbers, but i'll say them again. rail is far more fuel efficient as a form of transportation than truck. that's reduced fuel consumption, lower emissions, one train handles the equivilent of 280 truck loads, and a train can haul a ton of freight, 436 miles

on a single gallon of fuel. here are some of the numbers for crescent. more than a million tralks taken off the highways every year. more than 150 million gallons of diesel fuel saved annually. carbon emissions reduced by nearly two million tons a year, because we're nearly four times more fuel efficient than trucks on a 10-mile basis and emegses basis. the public will also say costs related to highway congestion. right now, it's estimated that gridlock cost this country about $80 billion a year, in wasted travel time, and in increased fuel consumption. crescent corridor will save $123 million a year in reducing highway delay. now, for the customers and communities, that need the dependable delivery of comboods, of raw materials and finished projects to grow, expand and

economically thrive. they provide them a superior form of enhanced tran poor tation to do that. well, so how do we do this? i'm telling you all about this because norfolk southern can't pull this off on its own. we've down all the numbers. if we could build it on our own, we would build it. in some long period of time we'll continue to work on it. but there are huge public economic benefits, and we just see this as a perfect opportunity for public contribution, for the public benefits. but stan dard benefits to make it a win-win solution. and as you know, we're already working hard at the state level. we appreciate your support. and we're continuing to work at the federal level as well. long-term increased rail transportation has to happen.

they are projected to grow 88% by 2025. and we have to improve our national freight transportation infrastructure to handle that. the railroad industry is prepared to do its part. and to do its part largely with private dollars. to give you an idea of that, our industry has spent for infrastructure about dr. $440 billion since 1980. it's a record that's unparalleled, i think, by any other industry. but i tell you as we look at the demands on our system over the next 10, 15, 20, 30 years, we're not sure that we can expand enough on our own to keep up. and we're working with you on a lot of that. now, at the risk of not overstaying my welcome, i will just say that i could stand here, i'll be happy to answer any questions about our view of the economy. but i'll just say it looks like

maybe it's a bottom. if we want to get more depressed, we can talk about that as well. but better days are ahead. rail is going to be an important part of those better days. we at norfolk southern, as well as others at the industry, are prepared to help the country move forward, as we have for the past several years. thanks so much for inviting me to participate today. great to see all of you and i look forward to working with all of you in the future. thanks. [cheers and applause] >> thrau very much for being with us. i know all the governors in all parts of the country are interested in doing what we can do include rail infrastructure as part of our economic future. the new england governor's recent he articulated a division for our part of the country. are the questions for mr. moormann this morning?

haley? >> wick, can you share with us thoughts about the panama canal, which as you know is being expanded, widened, deepened, because of the congestion of the ports on the west coast? are they going to be prepared in 2015 or so to take this huge increase of container threw put and some of them go around to the east coast? >> well, that's a great question. as i said, we are seeing the migration of traffic already in the east coast. and to give you an example of that, i think in 2001, 2002, of the international container traffic, we handled into this country. 80% came to us from the west and 20% came to us from the east.

this year it's more than 50%. so i think it's already done. you read about widening the canal, but i think it will accelerate that, but as much as these enormous ships. in fact, some of them are in service. we are doing a lot of investment right now to get ready for that. the heartland corridor is a big, big part of that. another big part of that, is the port of savannah, where we've already seen substancial. one of the good news about rail infrastructure is we can't do it overnight. but we can respond a lot more quickly in terms of building rail infrastructure than you can

highway infrastructure. lot of times we have the existing right of way to build on. we work through the environmental benefits, i mean, environmental issues fairly quickly. just because there's already a railroad there. and so, it's already property that's in a certain use. so, if we have two, three years vision out in the future, we can handle it. i think that's what we're doing very effectively right now. >> the other question from mr. moormann? >> shower, just quickly. what was the total cost on that corridor project? and how was it split between private and public? >> the heartland -- my experts are sitting here with all the numbers, but i'll make them up.

we in all got about $95 million out of safety lou. the state of virginia was, state of virginia was almost 10. west virginia was a little bit less than that. ohio, primarily came in through the facility. but some other as well. that and the balance which is going to turn out -- you'll notice i said the project was on time. i didn't mention the budget. we will put eight? yeah, the total project is over $150 now. we'll be around $70 to $80 of it. but, still, a great cost effective project in terms of the benefits.

>> any oirs? mr. moormann, thanks so much for being with us, and best of luck. governor rendell began to introduce our next speaker by videotape, a few minutes ago. but it's a pleasure to welcome fellow new englander to the podium. she's been focused on the need for transparency and accountability in infrastructure spending. and new sources of funding, sort of national capitol budget for some time. it's a real honor to have her with us this morning. please welcome kong woman rosa delauro. >> thank you very much governor douglas. i'm really delighted to be here this morning with all of you to take part in what is a very, very exciting and important conversation. and if i can, just for a second. i would be remiss. i have former colleagues who are

now in this exalted positions here. governor who i served with. governor richardson, both served in the house together. and, also, truly do want to acknowledge governor culver, thank you for parities pilotting in the leadership immediatings in the house in helping us find our way. a thank you to our host, and mare for a couple of hours i can take advantage of that hospitality before i jump on the plane and get back to connecticut. connecticut. it's also great to see governor kanofsky office -- if often

having enough if you have an infrastructure bank. to you, one to think you both -- and you both for your insights. mr. mohrmann, i'd think we could really work together it we got this infrastructure bank of the ground and helped to make a difference. in terms of the infrastructure, we are out of time. everyone is well aware of the economic troubles that we face right now. as governors, you are on the front lines of our government response. you know the difficult that -- a

difficult to the state budgets are having and what you are forced to do. . . recession. and governor rendell has been in pennsylvania today trying to deal with this difficulty. it is the longest recession that we have seen since the great depression. the unemployment rate climbed to 9.5% in june. 9.5% in june. a 26-year high. tragically, american families are lost 18% of their net worth in 2008. but with these challenges comes a chance to make big choices about our national trajectory and to get serious about improving aging and decaying infrastructure. it is when our nation has been truly tested that wise leaders have taken the long view. and they have made strong

investments in infrastructure that have both brought about a renewed and continued prosperity. even as a young republic, reeling from its first major financial crisis, the panic of 1819, governor clinton of new york held fast to his vision of a grand canal. connecting the hudson river to lake eerie. and here is a clinton that even our host, governor barbour can get behind. and thanks to his perseverence, what had been derided as clinton's ditch, when ground broke in 1817, instead became the eerie canal. which transformed the economy of the empire state. paid divedands throughout the rest of the century. and the town alon that canal did not peak until 1872, nearly 50 years after it opened.

when america faced its greatest crisis, congress passed and president abraham lincoln signed the pacific railway act of 1862, donating the land and issuing the bonds that would come to form the trans continental railroad. by wisely planting for the future, even as our nation was rent asunder, lincoln helped tie post america together from coast to coast together. after the economic depression of the 1890's, president and former governor teddy roosevelt came into office avowing a renewed commitment to infrastructure. he vastly expanded the national parks service. and with typical enthusiasm, he brought infrastructure not only to america, but to the world. the panama canal, transformed global trade, and yielded tremendous economic and strategic benefits for our nation. and when the great depression

put one fourth of the nation out of work, president and former governor franklin roosevelt coupled short-term solutions, and then unprecedented investments in our national infrastructure. roads, bridges, highways, tunnels, parks, public buildings, were constructed all across america there you the works of progress administration. the r.e.a. wired rural areas for electricity. the t.v.a. build dams in the tennessee valley to our north. time and time again our wisest leaders have kept their eye on the big picture. and even during, short term crisis have made long term investments in our infrastructure. and for good reason. whether you serve at the local, state or national level, we know the economic value of infrastructure. for every one billion dollars spent on transportation projects. for example, $47,000 jobs that cannot be outsourced are created, and $6.2 billion in

economic activity is generated. meanwhile, the capitol markets, including central banks, pension funds, financial fusions and others are looking for sound, investment opportunities. and have a growing interest in financing infrastructure improvements. and the fact is, in america, we suffer an infrastructure deficit at the moment, ads you know in your states. the american civil engineers estimates that we need $2.2 trillion over five years just to bring our infrastructure up to good condition. traffic congestion creates a $78 billion annual drain on our economy and loss productivity and wasted fuel. the united states ranks 15th in the world in broad band access. electric utilities need to invest in annual average of $28 billion for generation. $12 billion for transmission, and $34 billion for description

of electricity, to keep pace with demand. the numbers, jarring as they are, do not even take into account the wider opportunity costs of failing to invest in infrastructure. the educational rewards of rural broad band wasted. the environmental benefits of a clean energy grid squandered. the chances at economic growth sorely lost. as of 2007, brimming collapse in minnesota, the failure of the lev yis after hurricane katrina, as the citizens here know all too well, taughts, sometimes the consequences of neglect move beyond the economic to the catastrophic. we are at a fork in the road and the paths before us are clear. when we modernize our public transportation snls, or ensure we have safe drinking water. we are paving the way for new

growth and for opportunity. and when we fail to do those things, when we neglect our air traffic control system, or fall drastically behind other nations in broad band adoption we create a costly drag on our economy. as vice governor zhang's address reminds us, our friends around the world understand the critical importance of infrastructure to economic growth. and having invested accordingly, china invests 9%. india, 5% and rising. here, in america, we spend less than 2% of g.d.p. if it is true, that a civilization is measured by the quality of its roads, then we soon face a reckoning. if we are not careful, we will fall behind. we can continue to be a nation that mainly consumes, or we can

try to move back to being a nation that invests and produces. and to do so, we need a 21st sentry national infrastructure policy that makes us more energy efficient, reduces our reliance on foreign oil. that means constructing smart power grids, designing buildings that consume less energy, making alternative fuels accessible and making public transportation systems more efficient. all of which will create new markets, for new jobs. and jobs that cannot be outsourced. for these reasons and many more, it's time to prioritize, but we need to be smart about it. simply throwing money and resources at the problem willy nilly will not pay the dividends we seek. in this moment of peril and possibility, to paraphrase a beloved president lincoln, the dog mas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormry

president. we must think anew and act anew. which is why i, along with my colleagues, have introduced the national infrastructure development bank act. the bill establishes a development bank for america. a new inindependent entity that can provide financing for those of regional or national significance with clear nick, environmental and social benefits, such as high speed rail, clean water, waste water systems, a smart electric grid, broadband deployment to rural and disadvantaged communities. the development bank would issue 30-plus year public benefit bonds, and provide direct sub siddies to infrastructure projects, from amounts made available in the issue of the bonds. funding from the bank would supplement, summed, i add that,

supplant current. it would add $25 billion for congressional appropriations, five billion a year over five years. and the rest, sunlight to the call of the treasury secretary, as well as a conservative leverage ratio of 2.5-1. that's based on the european development bank. the bank would have an ability to issue up to will over $600 billion in public benefit bonds, providing for an unprecedented infrastructure development across this country. after 19 years in the hourps, 15 of which have been focused on promoting this concept, we don't move very quickly. i've developed a keen and first

hand sense of why this bank is desperately needed. the way the things are set up now, a big multistate project, and you know this, passes and it comes before the congress. it usually has to contend with multiple subcommittees, overlapping jurisdictions, all of which can work to slow highly useful new plans, or critical improvements. quite frankly, infrastructure projects that do make the congressional cut are all too often chosen on the basis of port, padding the home district, as it were, rather than utility. ultimately, this bill aims to depoliticize, while creating new opportunities to directly

support and accelerate the kind of projects that will make a significant and long-term impact. in other words, the creation of a national development bank would make it much easier for states to get the important transportation, environmental energy and telecommunications project they need to get off the ground, without getting them tied up forever. or drastically alt er thed by the congress. how would it work? i know some of you have had experience with the idea at the state level. and a national bank would function similarly. the bank would include a five member board of directors, chosen by the president, with the advised consent of the senate, with authority to consider projects based on objective criteria, and to provide financial assistance to qualified infrastructure products. after they set out the criteria, a committee would prioritize them for the board.

the executive committee members headed by an executive director would also serve as chief financial officer, chief operations officers, general down sill. that are needed for the day-to-day operations of a bank. at the same time, a risk management committee headed by a chief risk operator would ensure a diverse, portfolio by reading project type. and an audit committee would work with independent auditors to ensure the bank is functioning properly as a bank should. the plap is modeled after the european investment bank. it's the european union's long-term lending bank which for 50 yearses has raised private sector capitol from around the globe to leverage investment in telecommubecations. it is working for them,

including a trans european network strategy that is integrating the continent with high speed rail and other modes of transportation. it could work wonders for us. we have support from many groups in the business and labor communities, including the american society of civil engineers, the national construction alliance, the building and trades, af lrve c nch o. the u.s. chamber of commerce, the association of general contractors, transportation for them. when you can get the u.s. chamber and the a.f.l. and c.i.o. on the same track here, i think we've got something that we might be able to see come through. through. the bank concept apse the bank concept also enjoys the support of president obama and

many in congress. the president's budget provides $5 billion annually, five years, a total of $25 billion. the house budget provides $2 billion in fiscal year 2009, $5 billion in fiscal 10, toward a national bank. the transportation housing and urban development appropriations bill makes room to fund the bank should be authorized. after a long and hard fight, i am pleased to tell you we are on the cusp of making this happen. we're going to do it and we need to do it right. and frankly, i have just seen a draft of an omb outline that looks like a piecemeal version of the banked. in that plan, the bank would be set up as a peace within the department of transportation that would only focus on transportation projects.

this is foor too narrow a vision. we not only lose all the enormous benefits a bank could bring to an environmental energy and telecommunications, projects under the proposal, we lose the ability to attract investment, and to leverage private dollars. as a former treasury secretary, mary peters as observed, there are up jards of $4 billion available in the private sector for infrastructure infrastructure vehement. since the treasury, this is important to keep in mind, the treasury department is the sole entity that borrows on behalf of the frl government and can do so more, the bank should be under the treasury's authority, otherwise it just becomes a part of the department of

transportation. and their existing finance program. we need to be thinking bigger. and if ever there was a time to start thinking big, it would be now. . i hope this will help raise the profile of the development bank proposal. in his book bolden average, investment banker felix roblin, the former ambassador of france, head of the miscible corp. 17 years and a strong supporter of our plan talks about the government's vital role in rebuilding america. in it, he makes a key point. american history, he writes, "shows that economic growth, the creation of wealth, employment,

and opportunity are all built on the platform of investment, innovative public investment." further, "every great american president has sponsored a great investment project." he is right. from the erie canal and the transcendental or a road to the federal highway act and the internet, america's economic vitality is always rested -- has always rested on the infrastructure. our american success story have always been written in stone and mortar and iron and steel, granite, and fiber-optic cable. we must come together to write the next chapter in infrastructure investment for our nation. i look forward to working with you. we can do this. we need to have the courage and the will and the foresight and the vision to move forward on this plan.

you can play an incredible significant role in raising the profile of this and of letting your colleagues and members of congress to take your clout and use it to put pressure on the institution i am serving to make this happen. thank you for letting me be here today. thank you. [applause] >> thank you so much for being with us. our chairman is no longer on the phone any longer. he passed along a question for you. the administration has proposed certain things. the question in view of justice -- how can we work together and

be helpful? that is the question. >> i think there is an appetite to move forward on this. speaker pelosi is very interested in this and has spoken out about it. what we cannot do is limit our vision to just making this part of the department of agriculture. i share the subcommittee on agriculture. i'm always thinking about it. it cannot be just a part of the department of transportation or make it in another piece of that agency. its strength and independence as a bank -- as i concluded, we need your help. we need your voices.

i am happy to sit down at any time or place to discuss this with people. we need your voice and your aggressive advocacy of this concept. we need -- this is a tough time. we are dealing with energy legislation, health care, a difficult economy. this has to be part of the national discourse on what happens with our economy. we are facing a very difficult time. it does not lessen what you need to get done with other entities to try to move forward. in that context, i believe that with the kind of capitalization we can talk about that will require congress to move on it that you can help us get there. you can help yourself and do the

kinds of things you want to do to create a solid economic base in your own state. >> i think your proposal is a very good one. if you could explain, how would it work in an instance of -- there is a high-speed rail effort by the administration. 11 corridors have been selected. we in the west are trying to have a corridor from el paso to denver. there are federal and state matches. other your -- under your bank, could states apply? how would it work? >> let me go back to the concept. this is not to supplant the

already existing mechanism that is there to finance the project. this would be another avenue of revenue. with such a project, the state could request, apply for funding to the bank in order to be able to get this financed. what we are looking at is locally you have dealt with municipal bonds which are usually smaller projects. projects of national significance and regional in scope that would look at how you can take traffic off the road and lessen congestion. you can look at the environmental benefits the deal with job creation. that is the purpose that is set up for states to be able to get funding from this bank.

>> he said the house is going to move forward on a highway bill. i read in the paper today -- i may not have all of my facts, but this highway bill may be delayed. >> you are talking about the reauthorization of the transportation. the senate last week -- the highway trust fund is about $8 billion short. they are trying to address that shortfall. to do that before the august recess is important. the senate already acted and they extended it for 18 months. i suspect that is what will happen in the house as well.

it is being worked out. that is what is going to happen. we have seen an extension by several months. it makes it very difficult to try to get anything done with that short time frame. they are trying to sort out how to fund the entire record relation. one person is masterful in what he is doing. there is a determination to deal with the $8 billion shortfall in the highway trust fund. >> we have a lot of projects in the states ready to go. i hope you succeed. >> thank you very much.

[applause] >> an important topic. we are running over. we need to get to a couple of other items. we will move right along. i want to thank our special guests for being here for this important discussion on infrastructure. thank you all. [applause] i would like to ask my colleagues to be as expeditious as possible in their presentations while still doing justice to the topic over the next few minutes. first of all, and want to call on gov. patrick who is going to be our host a year from now. , appear and tell us what we are

going to enjoy next year. >> thank you. i am proudly wearing the colors of red sox nation. you are about to get your own callers to where rigid colors to wear. we are honored to host the meeting -- you're all colors to wear. we're honored to host the meeting next year in boston. we are planning meetings that will be productive and fun. look for it to the fungicide to showing you wear american democracy was invented, our historical attractions. we want to expose you to our cultural and history community. we want to show you the beautiful landscape, the mountains, valleys, and coastline. plan to come early.

plan to stay late. we will have some version of a concert services that will help you plan your family vacation around that time as low. we are looking forward to having you. i want to thank everyone for their leadership and the honor of giving us this opportunity. thank you. [applause] >> there is a massachusetts display here at the convention center. stop buying get more information. now i want to talk about a program called child help. >> i can speak from here. this is an opportunity for me to talk to you about something that is near and dear to my heart.

our headquarters are in phoenix, arizona. it is an organization that i got involved with. two dynamic women who work entertainers in the young girl like decided they would put aside their career and to reach out and help those abused children that we all have in our state. five children die every day in the united states and due to java beans. these children are in your states as well as mine. i will like some people to stand up. please the knowledge of them. [applause] they have been fighting child abuse for 50 years. we just celebrated our 50th anniversary. anniversary. some marvelous

-- they have done marvelous things. you'll notice that there is a bus outside with a wrap around it. it is to raise attention, if you will, to everybody who lives in america, awareness to the issue of child abuse, and that includes the child help national hot line. why they are here today, on the table, you have a piece of paper here that explains what their mission is. i do not need to explain that to you. a first and foremost, we want you to know they will be out there in the community. it will but each one of your states. i hope you have the opportunity to welcome them and participate with them to raise that awareness of people. . they are out there and they are focused on encouraging and providing support and resources

for families and care givers around the country. today i have a child help resolution. what we are hoping is that we can get all of the governors throughout the state to sign on to say that the day as governors of their state want to prevent child abuse and they want to help those families that are victims of child abuse. it is a worthy cause. i will like you to come by here before we leave to sign up with it. i have cut my presentation down. i asked you to take the sheet of paper, and make this issue

something that we can collectively do in each of our states and make a difference. children are hurting out there. thank you. [applause] >> we thank the people from chao help for being here as well. this awards program gives governors the opportunity to recognize some of the most bible citizens and servants. they have made inviable contributions to public service and state governments. i am honored to commend these extraordinary individuals for their commitment to improve their communities, their state, and our great country. all the nominees for outstanding this year. the selection committee had to fulfil its responsibility to

make these choices. i want to thank one person from pennsylvania research on the selection committee. i think barbour is here. -- barbara is here. thank you very much. awards are in several categories. as i announced each winner, i would like you to come forward along with your governor if he or she is here. i want the governor's to come up here and make remarks about each winner. our first when there is the former secretary of this up the cargo -- of south dakota fishing in gaming deparle in. [applause]

>> thank you, mr. chairman. ladies and gentlemen, john cooper served as the secretary of game fishing parts in south dakota for two different governors. before that, he served as a u.s. fish and wildlife officer for a number of years. before that, he served two terms of duty in vietnam. he is a gentleman that has been responsible for improving the quality of life for people who live in south dakota but also for hunters and fishermen who enjoy the hunting season. he has been actively involved with clean water issues and promoting an negotiating changes in the missouri river water

resource plan. he has been an active member with the state and other states. it is my pleasure to introduce you a gentleman who has done a marvelous work over a long career. mr. john cooper. [applause] >> thank you. next in the private citizen category, from virginia. a lie to and by the governor to come forward. >> -- i would like the governor to come forward.

>> terry dickinson would have been a good nomination in the year. he served as a dentist. he came to virginia where he became the chair of the virginia dental association. he noticed that many americans do not have access to dental care. he started something in virginia called the mission of mercy which organized private sector dentists to provide free dental care around our state. he organized nearly 40 mission centers. he has been responsible for providing free dental care for these organizations. the work that he has done has spread through other states that have tried to emulate the work. he dealt with people hurt by hurricane katrina.

the centerpiece takes place next weekend in virginia county. i have served their and i will be working with volunteers with my wife. people lined up and drive from all over the eastern part of the united states. it is all kinds of medical care not just a dental. you'll save vehicles from florida and oklahoma coming to get free dental and medical care. it is a very humbling and setting thing tuesday. the work that he has done to bring people together is very inspiring. his model is, it is not about the care, it is about the caring. i look forward to being with him next week to continue his wonderful work. [applause]

>> congratulations dr. dickinson. now in the arts category. i like to invite governor a mallet to come forward. -- o'malley to come forward. >> thank you for your hospitality and pulling us together. she is one of the recipients of the distinguished service award. it has been written that americans are living in the present that is shaped by visions of the future. her dream of the future in maryland was a place where every child have the ability to receive quality arts education

that would unleash their own creative potential and ability to think in creative waves. -- creative ways. maryland has the best public school system in the u.s. that is in part due to her leadership. she understands that if our children are to attain higher levels in reading and math that the arts and music are critical to that. she worked with the maryland state department of education. it resulted in the adoption of a voluntary state curriculum in fine arts. we are setting up objective criteria that says this is true arts education. putting kids on a bus to visit a museum once a month after school is not arts education. shhas been a tremendous

leader. she is a true champion for arts education. because of her efforts, we are seeing tremendous progress in education in our state. her leadership has improved the quality of life for our kids and their outcome. we are proud of you. he make maryland a better place. thank you for your leadership. [applause] >> our final award winner is in the artistic production category. it represents the state of florida. i like to tell you about james. he is a resident from florida. he was born there. he began selling his paintings out of the trunk of this car for $20 years ago. he has planted more than 10,000 florida landscapes.

he has been commissioned by two governors of the state. he has expertise and has spent time in many projects. he volunteers for our education programs as well as other programs that benefit children as well as crime prevention programs. he participates in charitable events. extensive artistic contribution captures the beauty of this state. he is generous with his time, talent which brings a greater understanding on the importance of art to the public. congratulations to james. [applause] >> sunday, janet napolitano speaks to the nation's governors.

live coverage continues through monday on c-span. >> apollo 11 astronaut buzz aldrin picture calls on sundays washington journal," as we talk about the 40th anniversary of the first moon walk. >> the senate judiciary committee has wrapped up its confirmation hearings for supreme court nominee judge sonia sotomayor. over the next few hours, highlights of this week's hearings. first, her opening statements, followed by questions by the committee chair and ranking members. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2009] >> please rate your -- raise your right hand. these were the testimony you're about to give will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you god? >> i do. >> thank you. please be seated.

i thank my two colleagues from new york for the introduction, and i appreciate it. i boat -- i know both have known you for some time. the judge, you also introduced a number of members of your family. now the floor is yours. it >> thank you, mr. chairman. i also want to thank senators schumer and children for their kind introductions. in recent weeks, i have had the privilege and pleasure of eat -- meeting 89 centersenators. each of you have been gracious to me and i have some much enjoyed meeting you. our meetings have given me and eliminating four of the 50 states and invaluable insights into the american people. they are countless family members and friends who have done so much over the years to make this day possible.

i am deeply appreciative of their love and support. i want to make one special note of thanks to my mother. i am here, as many of you have noted, because of her aspirations and sacrifices for both my brother and me. thank you. i am very grateful to the president and humbled to be here today as the nominee to the united states supreme court. the progression of my life has been uniquely american. my parents left puerto rico during world war ii. i grew up in modest circumstances and a housing project. my father, a factory worker with a third grade education, passed away when i was 9 years old. on her run, my brother -- my mother raised my brother and me.

she taught us the key to success in america is a good education and she set the example, not studying alongside my brother and me at our kitchen table so she could become a registered nurse. we worked hard. i poured myself into my studies at cardinal spellman high school, earning scholarships to princeton university and yale law school. my brother went on to medical school. our achievements are due to the values that we learn as children and a half continue to guide my life's endeavors. i tried to pass on this legacy by serving as a mentor and friend. to my many got children and students of all backgrounds. dchildrend and to students. as a prosecutor as a corporate

litigator, as the trial judge, and as an appellate judge, i have served. i saw children exploited and abused during one of my positions. i felt the pain and suffeng of families torn apart by the needless deaths of loved ones. i saw and learned the stepped-up law enforcement has in protecting the public. in my next legal job, a focus on commercial matters. i litigated issues on behalf of national and international businesses and advised them on everything from contracts to trademarks. my career as an advocate ended and my career as a judge began when i was appointed by president george h. bush to the

united states district court for the southern district of new york. as a trial judge, i did decide over 450 cases and presided over dozens of trials. my most famous case was the major league baseball strike in 1995. after six extraordinary years on the district court, i was appointed by president clinton to the united states court of appealsnb. on that court, i have enjoyed the benefit of sharing ideas and perspectives with wonderful colleagues. we have worked together to resolve the issues before us. i have now serve as an appellate judge for over o decade. i have decided a wide range of constitutional, statutory, and other legal questions. throughout my 17 years on the bench, i have witnessed the

consequences of my decisions. those decisions have not be in -- not been made to serve the interests of any one person. only to serve the larger interests of impartial justice. in the past month, many senators have asked me about my judicial philosophy. it is simple. fidelity to the law. the task of a judge is not to make law but to apply the law. it is clear, i believe, that my record reflects my rigorous commitments in interpreting the constitution according to its terms, interpreting statutes according to their terms, and reviewing the precedents established by the supreme court. i have applied the law with the

facts at hand. the process of judging is enhanced when the arguments are understood and and knowledge. that is why i structure my opinions by setting out what the law requires and then explaining why a contrary position is accepted or rejected. that is how i see how to strengthen the rule of law and strengthen the impartiality of our judicial system. my personal and professional experiences help me to listen and understand what the law always commanding the result in every case. since president obama announced my nomination in may, i have received letters from people all over this country. minitel a unique story of hope

-- many tell a unique story of hope. each reflects a dream, a belief in the dream that led my parents to come to new york all of those years ago. it's our constitution that makes that dream possible. i now seek the on all of upholding the constitution as a justice on the supreme court. senators, i did forward in the next few days to answer your questions. to having the american people learn more about me. to be part of a process that reflects the greatness of our constitution? >> now judge sonia sotomayor answers questions. later, the wisconsin senator.

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>> good morning, everybody. just so we can understand what is going on, i am not sure if we have the votes today. if we do have votes, to the extent we can keep the hearing going during votes, and have different senators leave between them, we will. if we cannot, then we will recess for those votes. i guess we are one minute early here. the way the traffic was today, i think some people are still having trouble getting in here. i talked with senator sessions about this, and what we're going to do is have 30-minute rounds.

we will go back and forth between sides, and senators will be recognized based on seniority if they are there. if not, then we will go to the next person. there, if not, then we'll go to the next person. and with that as i said yesterday when we concluded and now the american people finally have heard from judge sotomayor. and i appreciate your opening statement yesterday. you've had weeks of silence. you follow the traditional way

of dom -- nominees. you've visited more senators than any nominee i know of for just about any position. we get used to the traditional, the press is outside t questions are asked, you give a nice wave, and keep going. but finally you're able to speak. i think your statement yesterday went a long way answer the critics and the nay sayers. i hope everybody will keep the questions pertained to you and to your background as a judge. you're going to be the first supreme court nominee in more than 50 years to serve as a federal trial court judge. the first in 50 years to have served in both a federal trial court and a federal appellate court judge.

let me ask you the obvious one. what are the qualities a judge should possess? you've had time with the trial kourlt and appellate court. what qualities should a judge have, and how does that experience you've had -- how does that shape your approach? your approach to being on the bench? >> senator leahy, yesterday many of the senators emphasized that the values they thought were important for judging. and essential to many of their comments was the fact that a judge had to come to the process understanding the importance and respect the constitution must receive in the judging process and understanding that that respect is guided by and should be guided be a full appreciation

of the limited jurisdiction of the court in our system of government, but understanding its importance as well. that is the central part of judging. what my experiences on the trial court and the appellate court has reinforced for me is that the process of judging is the process of keeping an open mind. it's the process of not coming to a decision with a prejudgment ever of an outcome. and that reaching a conclusion has to start with understand in what the parties are arguing, but examining in all situations

carefully the facts as they prove them or not prove them, the record as they create it, and then making a decision that is limited to what the law says on the facts before the judge. >> let's go in on this. one of the things that i found appealing in your record is that you were a prosecutor. as many of us, both the ranking member and i had the privilege. you worked in the front lines. assistant district attorney of the manhattan d.a.'s office. your former boss, district attorney robert morganthal, the dean of the prosecutors said one of the most important cases you worked on was the prosecution who terrorized people at harlem. he would swing on ropes into their apartments and rob them

and steal and actually killed three people. described how you threw yourself into every aspect of the investigation. helped to secure a conviction of 62 years to life of the murders. you're described as a skilled legal prak tigs ner who not only ruthlessly pursues justice for victims of violent crimes but understands the root cause of the crime and hoto curve it. did that experience shape your views as not only a lawyer, but also a judge? this is getting into about as nitty-gritty as you could into the whole area of criminal law. >> i became a lawyer in the prosecutor's office.

to this day i owe who i have become as who i became as the judge to mr. morganthal. he gave me the privilege and honor of working in his office that has shaped my life. when i say i became a lawyer in his office it's because in law school, law school keeps you hypothetical. they set up facts for you. they give you a little teaching on how the facts are developed. but not a whole lot. then they ask you to to develop legal theory. it is fax. it is how you develop your position in the record. and then it is taking those facts